Lin Po brought out two high-backed chairs. Fearing his parents would be uncomfortable, he placed soft cushions on them. Lin Chuansen and Wang Yurong sat down. Originally, they had wanted to hold hands, but if one of them were to undergo a mutation, the other would be in immediate danger. Lin Chuansen said, “Keep your mother and me a distance apart. Face us toward each other.”
Wang Yurong wept as she spoke. “Son, don’t hesitate to do what you must. Hurry, there isn’t much time left.”
Lin Po felt as if his heart were hollow. He had returned to the past, stockpiled resources, and planned survival routes, but in the face of this indiscriminate mutation, he was powerless. He could only pray for the heavens to take pity on him. Since he had been given a second chance, he hoped it wouldn’t be so cruel. In his previous life, he never knew the final fate of his parents and friends; in this life, he had to keep them by his side, no matter what.
If the heavens could truly hear this wish, he was willing to help others in the apocalypse to the best of his ability.
After settling his parents, Lin Po went to check on Yun Zhuan. The sleeping pills had already taken effect; Yun Zhuan was lying on the bed, fast asleep. Lin Po deliberately made a lot of noise walking in and even nudged Yun Zhuan twice, but he did not wake. Lin Po sat by the bed and stared blankly for a while. Actually, since his return, he hadn’t had much time to spend quietly with Yun Zhuan. Spending an entire day idling in the library like before was even more impossible. He had to prepare various supplies for himself and his family while enduring the waves of self-reproach that surged in his heart deep at night. This disaster wasn’t like an earthquake or a flood. If he could have predicted it clearly, he would have risked everything to warn people. But the meteor shower brought a fifty-fifty chance for everyone; Lin Po couldn’t see the answers in everyone’s hands, so he could only choose the optimal path for his own.
He set the air conditioner to a comfortable temperature for Yun Zhuan and walked out of the room, climbing through the small attic to the roof. A small section of the roof was flat because of a sudden romantic whim his parents had years ago, saying they wanted a place to watch the moon. However, they hadn’t lived here long, so moon-watching had never actually happened.
The platform hadn’t been cleaned for a long time, but aside from a few stray leaves and dust, it wasn’t dirty. Lin Po sat directly on the ground, gazing out over the entire village from the heights.
Rural folk didn’t have much of a nightlife. After cooling off in the summer air, they usually returned to their homes around eight o’clock. Because of their hard labor, they went to sleep early. The village was devoid of noisy human voices, filled only with the chirping of cicadas and the croaking of frogs.
Lin Po sat quietly on the roof for a while and opened his phone. The trending searches were already filled with photos of the meteor shower. Lin Po scrolled through the images; they were indeed beautiful, but the disaster they brought was lethal.
According to information Lin Po had heard through the grapevine later in his previous life, as the meteor shower fell toward Earth, it brought a unique substance that altered human genes. Some people became stronger, gaining the ability to manipulate the powers represented by the Five Elements in ancient texts. Others, however, seemed to fail the adaptation. They lost their human appearance and intellect, becoming creatures that only knew how to attack and bite normal humans. They didn’t eat people—human flesh held no attraction for them. Every attack seemed designed solely to spread their condition, as if they were controlled by a virus. Infected humans were merely petri dishes for them, devoid of thought, existing only to constantly expand their numbers.
Before Lin Po died at the hands of a Water Element user in his previous life, he had never heard of any medicine related to treating or preventing this virus. It was possible he had simply been too weak to reach the center of power, so he hadn’t been privy to such significant secrets.
Of course, none of that mattered to Lin Po now. He glanced down at his watch; the time was almost up. He returned to his parents’ room, waiting for the result with total concentration.
Lin Chuansen wanted to say a few words. If he were to be infected, this would be his last moment of clarity. But looking up at his grieving wife and solemn son, he suddenly found himself unable to speak.
Right then, a scream suddenly pierced the air from outside. Immediately after, the entire village seemed to have a switch flipped, erupting into chaos.
Lin Po’s heart went cold. It had begun. In his previous life, his ability had appeared late, so he didn’t feel anything now. He immediately rushed to his parents and asked urgently, “How is it? Do you feel any discomfort or a sensation of heat in your body?”
He didn’t know what it felt like before zombification, but he knew what it felt like to awaken an ability. A surge of heat would erupt from within the body, almost like it was burning, and then, like a sudden spiritual resonance, one would naturally sense the ability to manipulate one of the five elements.
Lin Chuansen focused on his senses. He didn’t seem to feel anything. Just as he was feeling relieved, he saw his wife slumped in her chair, swaying. Had it not been for the ropes, she would have slid to the floor.
Lin Chuansen grew anxious and shouted, “Quick, look at your mother!”
Lin Po turned his head and rushed over to catch Wang Yurong. He checked her carefully, then used a knife to cut the ropes. “Mom should be awakening an ability. Her physical constitution is average, which is why she’s having such a strong reaction.”
Lin Po remembered having a similar experience. His own physical fitness had been average, and it had been even worse after undergoing so much torment. If he hadn’t been resting in a closed room during the awakening, he probably would have been bitten by zombies while unconscious.
Lin Po helped Wang Yurong lie down on the bed. Although the adaptation process was painful, it wasn’t life-threatening. While his father hadn’t awakened an ability yet, the threshold for mutation had already passed. Since he showed no signs of turning, there was no need to worry about him becoming a zombie.
Lin Po also untied Lin Chuansen. “Dad, it looks like you’re like me—your ability hasn’t appeared yet. But don’t worry, as long as we aren’t infected by the zombies outside, we are safe.”
Lin Chuansen nodded. “I understand. It’s alright, we’ll just hide in the house. I’ll take care of your mother; you go check on your friend.”
His parents’ safety allowed Lin Po to breathe a massive sigh of relief. At the thought of Yun Zhuan, his heart tightened again, and he ran out clutching his dagger.
It was very noisy outside, so Lin Po couldn’t hear any sounds from the room. When he reached the door, he stopped and pressed his ear against it to listen. It was very quiet inside. Lin Po’s emotions stabilized instantly; if Yun Zhuan had turned into a zombie, even a large dose of sleeping pills wouldn’t have worked. Since it was so quiet, he definitely hadn’t changed.
Lin Po pushed the door open impatiently. Sure enough, Yun Zhuan was lying properly on the bed, though his forehead was drenched in sweat. It seemed he was awakening an ability as well.
A surge of wild joy filled Lin Po’s heart. Although he had avoided the slaughterhouse of high-density cities from the start, neither he nor his father had abilities yet. If ill-intentioned ability users attacked them later, it would be difficult to resist. But now they had Yun Zhuan—it was a massive boost to Lin Po’s confidence.
Yun Zhuan had felt incredibly sleepy after his shower. He didn’t know if the summer heat was making him dizzy, but as he lay on the bed preparing to read a few more pages of documents, his eyelids grew heavy, and he soon fell asleep. Later, for some reason, he felt as if a warm current were coursing through his body and blood. He felt uncomfortable and struggled, but he couldn’t wake up.
“Yun Zhuan, Yun Zhuan, wake up quickly.” A distant calling seemed to reach his ears; it sounded like Lin Po’s voice.
He struggled to open his eyes, jolted awake by a sharp pain under his nose. Lin Po was shaking him anxiously, his thumb pressed hard against Yun Zhuan’s philtrum.
“Yun Zhuan, something happened. There are screams outside, and both you and my mom fainted. Do you feel any discomfort right now?”
Lin Po couldn’t help but admire his own acting. He had explained the reason for the deep sleep so that Yun Zhuan wouldn’t suspect him, while also prompting him to check himself to determine which ability he had awakened.
Yun Zhuan hadn’t figured out what was happening at all. When Lin Po spoke, he naturally followed his lead.
He felt a power within his body that had a strong attraction to a certain substance. Then, he raised a hand, and a stainless steel spoon nearby suddenly flew toward him.
Lin Po was instantly struck by a wave of immense joy. It was a Metal Element ability—the capacity to manipulate all kinds of metal at will. Once this ability reached a certain level, the user would be an undisputed god of slaughter.
However, he couldn’t show his true feelings now. He had to pretend to know nothing and asked foolishly, “What’s going on? Am I seeing things? How did that spoon just fly over?”
Yun Zhuan was equally stunned. He only felt an instinct driving him to do it. Now, as he held the spoon, he made a slight motion, and the spoon was kneaded into a smooth ball as if it were ultra-light clay.
Yun Zhuan and Lin Po looked at each other. This was absolutely not the power of a normal human.
But Yun Zhuan was a well-read man. Aside from historical documents, he had read many novels out of interest. Those novels were full of imaginative ideas—mentions of abilities and evolution. Wasn’t that exactly like the current situation?
Yun Zhuan grabbed Lin Po’s shoulders. Usually as calm as still water, he asked excitedly, “Lin Po, do you have any special sensations? Don’t laugh at my naivety, but I suspect we’ve been influenced by some kind of power and have undergone an evolution. Quickly, check if you feel anything different about yourself.”
Lin Po was stunned. He had to admire Yun Zhuan’s sharpness and his powerful capacity for acceptance. It seemed he would have to be even more careful when exposing his space in the future. Although he trusted Yun Zhuan deeply, he had parents to take care of; he had to be cautious above all else.